Using draft orders in B2B
Orders that customers send directly to you by phone or email instead of through the online store can be created as draft orders. If the draft order has a B2B customer and a company location assigned to it, then the prices, payment terms, and checkout options automatically reflect the settings for that company.
On this page
Creating a draft order for a company
If a company submits a purchase order with you outside of your Shopify store, such as by email or on the phone, then you can create a draft order for their purchase.
Create a draft order and collect payment immediately
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click Create order.
In the Customer section, select a B2B customer.
Select the company location that the order is for.
To add products, search for the product, and then click Add.
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Optional: To add a purchase order number to your draft order, complete the following steps:
- In the PO number section, click the pencil icon.
- Enter a purchase order number, and then click Done.
Click Collect payment.
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Collect payment for your draft order using one of the following payment methods:
- If the customer uses a credit card as their payment method, then click Enter credit card, enter the credit card information, and then process the payment.
- If the customer uses a different payment method, such as a check, cash, or money order, then click Mark as paid.
- If the customer has a vaulted credit card, then click the credit card that you want to charge, and then click Charge to charge the amount displayed to the chosen card.
Click Create order.
Create a draft order and send an invoice to your customer for payment
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click Create order.
In the Customer section, select a B2B customer.
Select the company location that the order is for.
To add products, search for the product, and then click Add.
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Optional: To add a purchase order number to your draft order, complete the following steps:
- In the PO number section, click the pencil icon.
- Enter a purchase order number, and then click Done.
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To send an invoice, complete the following steps:
- In the Payment section, click Send invoice.
- Optional: Add a custom message to the invoice.
- Optional: To let your customer apply discounts when paying for this invoice, select Allow customers to apply discount codes when paying this invoice.
- Click Review invoice, and then click Send invoice.
Create a draft order with payment terms
When you send an invoice containing payment terms, your B2B customer doesn't need to pay the invoice immediately. They're prompted to confirm their order, and they can then pay the invoice within the time frame of the included payment terms as usual.
Steps:
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click Create order.
In the Customer section, select a B2B customer.
Select the company location that the order is for.
To add products, search for the product, and then click Add.
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Optional: To add a purchase order number to your draft order, complete the following steps:
- In the PO number section, click the pencil icon.
- Enter a purchase order number, and then click Done.
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Add payment terms to your draft order:
- In the Payment section, select Payment due later.
- From the Payment terms drop-down menu, select a payment term. If a company location already has payment terms set, then the payment term is automatically set according to the company location.
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Complete the draft order by doing one of the following actions:
- Click Create order to save the draft as a finished order on the Orders page.
- Click Send invoice > Review invoice. Review your invoice, and then click Send invoice.
Requiring orders to be placed as draft orders
If you want to review orders before they're approved, then you can require that customers submit their orders as drafts before you accept them. When you select the Submit all orders as drafts for review option, customers for that company location have a Submit for approval button in the checkout process.
Orders from locations with this setting are found in the Drafts page of your orders. These orders aren't complete until you click Create order or the customer submits payment after you send them an invoice.
Steps:
Desktop
- From your Shopify admin, go to Customers > Companies.
- Click a company that you want to require to place orders as draft orders during checkout.
- In the Checkout section, click the pencil icon.
- In the Order submission section, select Submit all orders as drafts for review.
- Click Save.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap … > Customers.
- Tap Companies.
- Tap a company that you want to require to place orders as draft orders during checkout.
- In the Checkout section, tap the pencil icon.
- In the Order submission section, select Submit all orders as drafts for review.
- Tap Save.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap ☰ > Customers.
- Tap Companies.
- Tap a company that you want to require to place orders as draft orders during checkout.
- In the Checkout section, tap the pencil icon.
- In the Order submission section, select Submit all orders as drafts for review.
- Tap ✓.
Local currency
If you use International, then the local currency, pricing, duties, and taxes are determined by the market associated with the order. Alternatively, if you don't use International, then the currency is set and can be changed on the catalog.
When more than one market is activated, the shipping address of the customer determines the market for the order. Adding a customer updates the market for the order so invoices, product pricing, and payment information is displayed in that customer's local currency.
On draft orders that display a currency other than your default store currency, the foreign exchange rate is calculated when you create the draft order. This rate is fixed and used on the invoice regardless of whether the exchange rate changes. However, if you save the order as a draft and edit it afterwards, then pricing on the whole order is updated with the foreign exchange rate that's current at the time of the edit.
After an order is partially paid, if you edit the order items, then the current foreign exchange rate is used for the edited items.
If you want to use different pricing and currency for a draft order, then change the market, but first, review the following impacts of changing the market on an order:
- Taxes are included or excluded from item prices. For example, orders with the United States market exclude taxes from prices, but orders with the Germany market include taxes in prices.
- Tax rates vary by market. At checkout, if a customer changes the shipping address to an address that's outside the market, then the correct tax rate for the customer’s shipping address is charged, but the market on the order, with its tax included or excluded setting, is unchanged.
- If you use a third-party service to determine the foreign exchange rate for a market, then pricing on an order is determined by the service’s exchange rate. However, the rate that Shopify Payments uses to calculate your payout is based on the market that's selected in Shopify. Therefore, the amount charged on the order can differ from the amount you receive in payment. For more information, refer to currency conversions and exchange rates.
- Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): If you are obliged to sell a product at the MSRP in a customer’s market, then you could be in breach of contract if you switch markets and use an alternative market price.
Change the market for an order
If you use Shopify International and you want to change the pricing and currency for your order, then you need to change the pricing. The Market section for your order is displayed only when a market other than your primary market is activated. If you want to change to particular market pricing, then you need to activate that market and local currency for the market.
Before you change the pricing, make sure to review the impact of changing the pricing.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click a draft order that you want to edit.
In the Market section, click the pencil icon.
Select a market to apply its pricing to your draft order.
Click Change pricing.
Click Save.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, go to Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap a draft order that you want to edit.
- In the Market section, tap the pencil icon.
- Select a market to apply its pricing to your draft order.
- Tap Change pricing.
- Tap Save.
Android
- From the Shopify app, go to Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap a draft order that you want to edit.
- In the Market section, tap the pencil icon.
- Select a market to apply its pricing to your draft order.
- Tap Change pricing.
- Tap ✓.
Order pricing is displayed in the customer's local currency except when you make the following custom changes to the order:
- If you add a custom line item or order discount, then the Discount value displays in store currency.
- If you add a custom shipping price, then the Price displays in store currency.
- If you add a custom item, then the Price displays in store currency.
After you make these custom changes, they're displayed on the order in the customer's local currency.
Local delivery or pickup in store
If a draft order requires shipping, then you can choose a preset shipping rate, create a custom rate, or choose local delivery or pickup in store.
If a shipping method is preselected when the draft order is created, then the customer can't modify that shipping method during checkout. This is the case for both business-to-business customers and direct-to-consumer customers.
If a shipping method isn't preselected when the draft order is created, then the customer can select from the available shipping rates at checkout, but can't select local delivery or pickup in store. If you want your customer to pick up their order from one of your locations, then you must preselect an in-store pickup location when creating the draft order.